Mon 26, 7pm Ethical Dilemmas ‘Is ethical finance possible?’, Chorlton Mill, Manchester
Event co-hosted by The Co-operative and Ethical Consumer. Panel of speakers looking at the question: “Can moving our money to mutuals help solve the banking crisis and make the world more sustainable?”
 The current panel is as follows:
• Louis Brooke from Move Your Money UK – on the growth of the UK’s newest consumer banking protest campaign
• Giles Simon from Co-operatives UK – on mutual finance and campaigning outside the UK
• Rob Harrison from Ethical Consumer – on campaigning to change bank behaviour – from South Africa to Cluster Munitions
• Chris Mills from the Co-operative Bank – speaking about the growth of the ethical banking sector
• Craig Lumsden, expert on co-operatives – speaking about the potential solutions offered by Credit Unions

Join the discussion, question the panel, or contribute from the floor. A lively discussion on one of most pressing political issues of the day.
Refreshments provided. Please arrive 6.30 for a 7.00pm start.
Do please confirm attendance if possible at:
https://www.co-operativememberevents.coop/coop_ems/event-details.aspx?object.id=c3c0422a-a77f-46b6-a2ad-fede92c6d801

Tues 27th, 7.30pm A Farm for the Future film showing by Transition Moss Side at the Phil Martin Centre, 137-9 Princess Rd Moss Side M14 Free, but donations will be asked for and places are limited – email transitionmossside@gmail.com

Tuesday 27th November,  doors open 7.30pm MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES – film screening by Manchester Film Cooperative Jennifer Baichwal’s compelling documentary of photographer Ed Burtynsky’s voyage of discovery in today’s industrial China.

International Anthony Burgess Foundation
3 Cambridge Street, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, Manchester M1 5BY

www.virtualmigrants.com

ALREADY HAPPENED

Thurs 1^st Nov, 5-7pm, Tyndall Centre event: We need to talk about growth. Roscoe Lecture Theatre B

Growth of the economy is generally taken to be an unqualified measure of success, but scientists from a range of disciplines are asking whether we might already have had too much of a good thing. Meanwhile, political economists are returning to the fundamental question of what the economy is for and what the consequences of setting other goals might be.

In Manchester, the City Council and civil society groups are considering the practicalities at a city scale and wondering if the financial crisis means that regional economies may struggle to return to economic growth at all.

This event, in a Question Time format, brings together a panel of experts and policy makers to discuss the key issues and answer your questions.

If you’d like to submit a question in advance please email tyndall@manchester.ac.uk with “Growth” in the subject line.

Speakers:
Richard Sharland, Head of Environmental Strategy at MCC
Baron Frankal, Director of Economic Strategy, New Economy Manchester
Dr Alice Bows, Sustainable Consumption Institute.
Prof Mark Burton, MMU & Steady State Manchester.
Dr Dan O’Neill, Centre for Advancement of the Steady State Economy & Leeds University

Friday 2^nd November, 12.30pm Sustainable Stories is an interactive exhibition designed to share and provoke discussion about the future of Greater Manchester.

The aim is to engage the public in a shared conversation about the challenges, issues and solutions to make Greater Manchester more sustainable.

You are warmly invited to join us for the launch at 12:30 on Friday 2^nd November 2012 at the CUBE Gallery, Portland Street, Manchester.

The exhibition will be opened with a series of short presentations from Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, Professor Martin Hall, Vice Chancellor of Salford University and Dr Beth Perry, Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures.

A workshop will then take place from 14.00-16.00 which will report on research carried out by the Greater Manchester Local Interaction Platform in order to stimulate a discussion about FAIR, GREEN and DENSE cities.

Please see attached flyers for more information and how to book for the launch and workshop (please note: booking is advised as places are limited).

The event is being held as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 3 -6 November 2012.

Sat 3rd Nov, 1.00pm to 3,00pm End Poverty – Fight for a Living Wage Main Hall, Friends’ Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester  OPEN MEETING organised by Manchester Unite the Union NW6/159 Branch – supported by Greater Manchester Association of Trades Union Councils.

Saturday 3rd, 2pm “Save Sunbank! Wildlife Walk” Meet at Hasty Lane, near Manchester Airport, WA15 8UT
Come along for a family friendly walk in the greenfields and woodlands of Sunbank in protest against Manchester Airport’s plans for a ‘World Logistics Hub’.
Manchester Airport has recently submitted a planning application to concrete over 90 acres of former greenbelt land around Sunbank Lane, in order to build around 43 warehouses and office buidings with 1,500 car parking spaces. These plans will lead to the eviction of local residents, the destruction of valuable greenspace and an increase in traffic congestion, noise pollution and carbon emissions from the Airport’s freight sector.
Join us for a protest walk against these unnecessary and destructive expansion plans. We will gather at Hasty Lane, and then walk to Sunbank around the affected area. Our route will take us through the green space earmarked for destruction, with opportunities to hear from local people and see wildlife in its threatened habitat. The walk will finish with warm drinks in the nearby Romper pub.

<Organised by Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport   (SEMA  www.stopmanchesterairport.org.uk or email: info@stopmanchesterairport.org.uk)
Supported by Ringway Parish Council and Save Sunbank campaign.  (Email:  savesunbank@gmail.com)
Transport details to Hasty Lane can be found on the SEMA website.

Tues 6, 6.30pm to 9pm Manchester Central bye-election Hustings

Do you live in the Manchester Central constituency? This is your chance to quiz the candidates who want to become your next MP in the by-election on Thursday 15 November.
If you aren’t able to make it, post your questions below. We’ll try to fit some in on the night, and ask the candidates to respond to the others afterwards.
Candidates attending:
• Chris CASSIDY (UKIP)
• Peter CLIFFORD (Communist League)
• Alex DAVIDSON (Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition)
• Tom DYLAN (Green Party)
• Lee HOLMES (People’s Democratic Party)
• Loz KAYE (Pirate Party)
• Lucy POWELL (Labour)
• Marc RAMSBOTTOM (Liberal Democrats)
• Matthew SEPHTON (Conservative)
This event has been organised by Manchester FOE and Unlock Democracy, and will be chaired by former Political Editor of BBC North West, Jim Hancock. Doors open at 6pm.

Weds 7th, 9.30am to 5pm Green Infrastructure for Ecosystems event

Wed 7 Nov, 6m – 7.30pm Manchester city centre green group, Manchester Town Hall
Do you live in Manchester city centre? Do you want a greener Manchester? A new green group is being set up for city centre residents to ‘green the city’.
An initial meeting to discuss ideas was held a couple of weeks, organised by Kevin Peel; Labour councillor for Manchester city centre. Suggestions included taking over undeveloped land, planting more street trees, grass roofs, planters, pop-up parks, lobbying planners to include more green space in developments and lots more. A meeting to formally establish the group will now take place so that a committee can be formed and funding applications can be submitted to raise money to turn ideas into action.

If you’re interested in getting involved please go along to the meeting or contact colette@manchesterfoe.org.uk for more information.  Room 113, Manchester Town Hall, Lloyd St, Manchester

Sunday 11th, 1.30pmA Promenade Parade to the [official] Grand Opening Ceremony of the OK Cafe!!
Posted on November 8, 2012
The OKasional Café would cordially like to invite you to the OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING CEREMONY of the Café!  (location tbc) for a Promenade Parade to the Café with Flotillas of Hopes and Dreams. Bring your bikes, your feet, slogans, mops, trumpets, top hats, top cats, gloves, Sunday Best, and creative ideas to decorate the Cafe!

Monday 12, 11am Tree planting Fog Lane Park Community Orchard
Don your scarf and join us as we create a new community orchard in Fog Lane Park in Didsbury. We’ll be planting 420 wild fruit and nut trees that will be a free source of luvverly local produce for years to come! To confirm your attendance and, for full meet-up instructions, please email community.growing@yahoo.co.uk

Tues 13, 6.45pm-9pm Friends of the Earth meeting
Our monthly full group meeting this month will provide people with an opportunity to find out more about the group, what you can get from joining in and what campaigns we hope to run next year.
Join us for a glass of wine (or something non-alcoholic) and cake from 6.30 onwards, giving you ample opportunity to chat to our campaigners in a relaxed environment.
Activities that you can get involved in from 7pm onwards:

• talk to some of our key campaigners about getting involved and how you can learn new skills or develop existing skills through volunteering
• have your say on planning and prioritising our campaigns for 2013
• put your creative skills to use by helping to make a bee costume and banners for future events
• find out more about some of the key roles within the group that we are looking to fill for next year
• suggest other groups that we can work in partnership with in addition to running our key campaigns
• find out about national Friends of the Earth and Manchester Friends of the Earth – how we work, how we are funded, how we run the local group, what awards we have won…
• see a stall in action – we regularly run stalls at local community events and always want volunteers to come and help out – if you’re not sure what this entails come along to see a mock up of a stall in action
• see some photos and press cuttings about the group from the last year
• have a look around our website, find out what the ‘wiki’ is and how you can use it, see our flickr site for hundreds of photos of our group events and actions, take online actions on environmental issues

This is a perfect meeting for those who are new to the group and for those who might want to get more involved and want to know how!
When: drinks and cake from 6.30pm, event 7-9pm, Tuesday 13 November
Where: Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LE

Tues 13  6pm to 8pm Tim May in conversation with MIT’s Mike Joroff on Future Cities.

Professor Tim May from SURF will be in conversation with MIT’s Mike Joroff who will talk about ‘inventional’ parts of our cities. You will be invited to imagine future cities where citizens shape their own experience, delight themselves, learn and build community, and how scientists and artists can transparently enable such creativity through working in partnership with one another.

Book here
Salford Quays
M50 2HE Salford
United Kingdom

Tuesday, 13 November 2012, 7pm to 9pm Refreshments available from 6pm

An Interactive Evening of Exploration with Christopher & Sheila Cooke
Join us for an evening of exploration into the latest thinking on values, leadership and change in the context of a rapidly globalising world, where 7 billion earthlings are seeking a first world lifestyle that consumes the resources equivalent to 74 billion.
Imagine for a moment, that the multiple and simultaneous pressures for change are actually early indications of the probability of the emergence of a new era, and that, in the apparent turmoil, many innovative solutions are being discounted or hidden.

Do the following statements ring true with you?
• The economic, environmental, social, and political indicators tell us clearly that
conventional ways of thinking are no longer working.
• There is growing demand for solutions based on a new way of thinking, where attaining a desirable quality of life and taking responsibility for the planet go hand-in-hand.
• I have a clear sense that something needs to change but I am not sure what!

If these words align with your thinking, then join us to explore how the latent resilience that exists within you can be released and utilised. We invite you to come with the questions you have not yet voiced about aspects of your life that are important to you, and come prepared to talk about what you are observing in the world that you have not yet had the chance to discuss.
Christopher and Sheila are dedicated to accelerating the release of this new era through an understanding of the deeper dynamics of worldviews. Christopher is a co-founder of Be the Change, and is considered to be a leading practitioner in the design-focused application of Spiral Dynamics Integral. Sheila is recognized internationally for her skills facilitating groups, and training others to act as facilitators of group process.

A highly interactive evening with space afterwards to mingle and talk.
Manchester Cheadle Village Hotel, Cheadle Road, Cheadle SK8 1HW
http://www.5deep.net No charge. Donations accepted.
Register via – jon.twigge@rpssoftware.co.uk

Sat 17th Manchester Hackathon at Madlab

Sat 17th, 2.30 to 4.30pm Stitched Up Free Upcycling Workshops – Trafford
Stitched Up are super excited to be bringing you some fabulous FREE workshops this Autumn. With the help of Recycle For Greater Manchester we will be providing workshops encouraging you to stitch, upcycle and create yourselves a new wardrobe from your old or unwanted clothing. Did we mention it’s FREE!!
You are invited to bring along any clothes from your wardrobe that are in need of a new lease of life. So whether it’s embellishing a shirt or turning a pair of jeans into a miniskirt, we can help. All the equipment and materials you need will be provided, including sewing machines, second-hand clothes, fabric scraps, threads, needles, pins, scissors and fastenings such as zips and buttons.
No sewing experience is required as our experts will be on hand to help. So bring along a friend and learn new lifelong skills to save money on your wardrobe!
To book onto the workshop drop as an e-mail below: stitchedupuk@gmail.com

Mon 19, 8:30pm – 10:30pm Permaculture For Communities
At the OKasional Cafe, 331 Great Western St, Rusholme
Taking the opportunity within an active community to consider the relevance and importance of the permaculture ethics, in particular people care in terms of designing for our personal impact within our local and global community. How does our own personal authority bare significance in the world we live in and how can we generate an authentic connection to that which matters in the face of global crisis?

Tues 20th,7.30pm Launch of two “Steady State Manchester” reports, Mechanics Institute, Princess St

Friday 23rd November at 9.30am – 12.30pm. Food Futures Forum on Food Poverty The Forum is open to anyone with an interest in tackling food poverty in Manchester and will be an opportunity to hear the latest evidence and to contribute to developing approaches to tackling it.

Places are limited so booking is essential. If you would like to attend please email c.raiswell@manchester.gov.uk

Sat 24. 2-5pm Climate Change & Energy network event, Methodist Central Hall Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ
An event organised by Stop Climate Chaos Coalition for local groups in the North West who are already working on climate change and energy issues and would like some support to do so. The afternoon will include an “Ask an MP” session with John Leech MP to improve your lobbying skills, and sessions on the Green Economy and forthcoming Energy Bill with Green Alliance, Friends of the Earth and Low Carbon Communities Network.

Spaces are limited so do let us know you’re coming by emailing callie@stopclimatechaos.org

Sunday 25th, 10:30 am Friends of Chorlton Meadows volunteers’ day this Sunday on Hardy Farm. We’ll be removing scrub from the grassland.
Place: Jackson’s Boat Bridge (Chorlton side).
Remember that if you’re getting there by car, parking at the pub is for customers only. So you will have to park at Sale Water Park Visitors’ Centre and walk down to the bridge.